2021 Issue 1 TOPDOWN New Members, Spurs of the Moment, Surprises and Tumbles PLUS: How Unique is Your MX-5? Gossip & Stories, Tall & Otherwise! THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE MX-5 CLUB OF NEW ZEALAND www.mx5carclub.co.nz Spur of the moment ... and then ... SUNDAY 3RD JANUARY 2021 Keith and I decided to head out for breakfast Kapiti Coast / Wellington on Sunday, so a few days before we put out an email to see if anyone wanted to join us. Report & Photos by There was 27 of us at breakfast. Great to see everyone. We were at Kaitoke Gardens, Aston Sharon and Keith Ewing Norwood. They have a great Ten Dollar Breakfast. During breakfast decided to see if anyone was Another car headed home, left with five, then interested in a drive. Seven cars started with us and drove to the Whakataki for a cold drink and a drove over to Martinborough, then through Ponatahi nibble. out Gladstone onto Castlepoint Road, one car went Was a great drive, great sunny day, perfect home, six of us continued to Riversdale Beach weather. Spur of the moment drives are great. drove up the back up a hill to new sub division, Thanks for the company. great views overlooking the ocean. • 2 www.Mx5carclub.co.nz MX-5 TOPDOWN MAGAZINE www.mx5carclub.co.nz CONTENTS [email protected] JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021 facebook.com/MX5ClubofNZ Spur of the Moment 2 – Kapiti Coast / Wellington Contributing Guidelines National Committee & Feel free to submit articles via email. 4 Regional Co-ordinators Articles should be no longer than 900 words. Warm welcome to our Include your name (and the article 4 newest members author’s name if different), contact details and use full names in text. President’s Report – National If you submit an article, you agree to 5 Personalised Number have it edited as the Editor sees fit. Plate Odyssey – Waikato The NZ MX-5 Club does not pay for 18 submissions. Flyin Miata Tow Hitch If the article has been published before Solution in any form, please indicate. 19 TopDown is read by all ages, so take An Ice-Breaker for New this into account when considering Members – Bay of Plenty subject material and language. 20 No article which the Editor or the Winners and Awards NZ MX-5 Club deems to encourage – Mazda Motorsports breaking the law, either directly or by 21 inference, will be printed. Gossip & Stories, Tall & Otherwise – Taranaki Picture Guidelines 22 High resolution JPEGs are preferred. Surprises & Tumbles 2020 Update for Club (300 dpi). The preferred method for – Waikato / Hamilton 24 Merchandise submission of images is by email. No 6 single image should exceed 8 MB. Wild Goose Chase – Or Not? All photographs must be submitted with 9 – Taranaki the permission of the photographer. Vehicle registration numbers will be Only a Few Real MX-5 shown unless removal is requested. 10 People! – Kapiti Coast Please Note: The Editor cannot guarantee a date for publication. The Feasts and All above are guidelines only, and may be 12 Generations – Kapiti varied in exceptional circumstances. THE EDITOR’S DECISION IS FINAL. How Unique is Your 15 MX-5? Club Sponsors Deadline for Next Issue: Christmas & New Year and “Trade Off” March 31st 2021 16 Runs – Northern / Akld 23 Classifieds Contents copyright © 2020 MX-5 Club of NZ Life Members Design and Edit: Brian Thurogood Printer: Brebner Print, Hamilton. Name Region Awarded Life Membership Front cover: Member’s photos Bob McCaulay (deceased) Northern Disclaimer: This magazine does not Howard Fox Northern necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editor or the Committee of the MX-5 Larry Young Northern Club of New Zealand. It is intended Lawrie Copp Kapiti Coast to provide general articles and information only. While every care has Gary Wood & Alison Harold Waikato 2001 been taken to ensure the accuracy of Willie & Anne Williamson Northern 2007 the information it contains, neither the Editor, Committee or the authors can Kevin & Glenys Everitt Hawkes Bay 2008 be held liable for inaccuracies, errors Nigel Every Waikato 2009 or omissions. Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this magazine Bronwyn Upfold Central Plateau/Manawatu 2010 can be reproduced or reprinted Peter Glover Southland 2019 without the express permission of the Editor. All information is current at the Sharon Ewing Kapiti Coast 2019 time of printing and the Editor takes no Morrin Leyton Northern 2019 responsibility for any factors that may change thereafter. Brenda & Martin White Northern 2019 3 www.mx5carclub.co.nz National Regional Co-Ordinators Committee Whangarei / Twin Coasts Manawatu President Terry Conaghan To be advised. Keith Jones, 027 436 2568, Phone: 09 437 0898 [email protected] Mobile: 027 237 0084 Kapiti Coast / Wellington Email: [email protected] Sharon and Keith Ewing Vice-President Phone: 06 379 7709 Allan Boot, 027 260 0667 Northern / Auckland Mobile: 027 274 4443 [email protected] Allan Boot Email: [email protected] Secretary Mobile: 027 260 0667 Marilyn Harp, 021 617 729, Email: [email protected] Nelson / Tasman [email protected] To be advised. Treasurer Waikato / Hamilton Sandra Jones, 027 428 4606, Gary and Maureen Major Marlborough [email protected] Phone: 027 242 6783 To be advised Email: [email protected] Committee Members Canterbury Graeme Banks Bay of Plenty / Tauranga To be advised [email protected] Karen Struiksma Dunedin / Otago Leon Barton Mobile: 027 342 7189 [email protected] Email: [email protected] Clint Trewin Phone: 03 455 3246 (Work) Ron Bol, 021 068 7951 Hawkes Bay / Napier/ Mobile: 027 435 8510 (A/hours) [email protected] Hastings Email: [email protected] Donna Lee Mike & Rosemary Hurley [email protected] Phone: 06 878 9265 Southland / Invercargill Murray Lee Mobile: 021 152 6573 Peter Glover [email protected] Email: Phone: 03 217 7187 Mobile: 027 634 3900 Barry Potenger [email protected] Email: [email protected] [email protected] Taranaki Jed Wieland Nora Hunn [email protected] Phone: 06 761 8864 Jenny Wieland Mobile: 027 2160 608 [email protected] Email: [email protected] Mazda MX-5 Club of New Zealand Inc Membership subscriptions – $70.00 per car, per year for full PO Box 15551, New Lynn, Auckland membership, including TopDown magazine. For membership Email: [email protected] application forms, visit our website or email the Membership www.mx5carclub.co.nz Co-ordinators – Murray & Donna Lee on [email protected] A warm welcome to our newest members Northern / Auckland Bay of Plenty / Tauranga Nelson / Tasman Justin Pitt Nancy & Clare Clark Bob Jamieson & Barbara Kelly Martin & Barbara Wright Alf & Sandy Lautenbach Barb Johnson & Jane Wilson Roy & Judy Tidman Marlborough Carolyn & David Crow Peter & Amanda Farrell Andrew Waine Russell Keach Darryl & Darice Hubbard Kingsley Hockley Peter Harmes Hawkes Bay / Napier/Hastings New members should start Bill & Lyn Raffles Paul Siddles & Jackie O’Dwyer receiving emails from their Hayley & Joe D’Ath Kapiti Coast / Wellington regional co-ordinator regarding Frank Wang & Winky Wu Colin & Sonali James details of upcoming trips. Laurel Bell Trish Keogh & Adam Mitchinson Waikato / Hamilton Kaye & Dennis McKinlay If you are new to the club and Shane & Anne Harris Marshall & Witarina Owens coming along for the first time, Kathy Kelly & Kathy Alexander Harrison Luijk please make yourself known to Ray & Carole Talbot Cody Theobald & Megan Fitzpatrick the event organiser. 4 Milan Miletic www.mx5carclub.co.nz From the President I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable Xmas and New Year. Unfortunately for some of us 2021 is starting out in a not too dissimilar fashion to 2020. As I write this report Auckland is at Alert Level 3 and all parts of the country are experiencing conditions we have not endured since August last year. Hopefully our contact tracing systems, which are amongst the best in the world, will enable us to get back to the relative normality we have had for the past six months. I would encourage all Club members to use the COVID tracer app to record to hear from you. Please send any comments to your movements, or if your phone is unable to do the secretary, Marilyn Harp, on marilynharp@ this, to sign in where possible. gmail.com. As you will have seen from the Minutes of the The Committee is always looking for ways of 2020 Annual General Meeting, published in the making Club membership more seamless. A new last issue of TopDown, one of the matters that was feature that will be implemented on the website in discussed in General Business was the current the near future is on-line payment for merchandise membership structure of the Club. It was agreed and membership fee payments. We are using the that the National Committee should review this, POLi system, which many of you will be familiar including considering whether there should be with. This will remove the need for us to wait for other membership levels in addition to the current confirmation of payment before either shipping full membership. your goods or your new membership card and Several years ago I looked at the structures sticker. of MX-5 Clubs all around the world, including – Keith Jones, President Australia, the UK, the USA, and several European countries. It was very interesting to see the variety of memberships offered. Many, like us, had just a single membership class for owners of MX-5s, others offered sub- memberships for people who didn’t own an MX-5 but were interested in the marque. In the same way as we handled the Life Membership matter, a sub-committee has been set up to consider the various options and to make recommendations to the full Committee.